March 4, 2009 at 8:00 am
The Boston University Women’s Studies program is hosting an event entitled “Terror, Torture, and Feminine Masquerade: The Case of Alias vs. 24” today from 2 PM – 4 PM in the GCB Room 205 at 750 Commonwealth Ave, Boston. Hilary Neroni, Associate Director of Program Director of Film and Television Sudies at University of Vermont, will discuss “The Violent Women: Feminity, Narrative, and Violence in Contemporary American Cinema.” EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
March 3, 2009 at 11:06 am
School of Management Professor Stephen Davidson, author of the soon-to-be-published "In Urgent Need of Reform: Saving the U.S. Healthcare System", says that rather than resisting it, insurers could make the drive toward health-care reform an opportunity by transforming themselves into real managed-care organizations.
"They can create or contract with group practices, invest in information technology, analyze utilization patterns, and help physicians deliver reliably good, cost-effective care. This will enable them to not only define a constructive role for themselves in a new system, but also develop the capacity to add real value to the medical-care enterprise."
March 3, 2009 at 8:00 am
Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center is hosting an evening with acclaimed sportscaster and American journalist Bud Collins. His career of more than 50 years, which began in 1963 at the Boston Herald, and continued for 25 years at WGBH, gained him recognition and entrance into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Collins was also awarded the Red Smith award in 1999. The event, which is open to the public, will include a lecture and reception.
February 27, 2009 at 11:19 am
Tamar Frankel, professor in the School of Law, offers commentary on executive bonuses in a piece written for The Great Debate on Reuters.
"The debate over corporate executive bonus payments should be put in perspective. Some say that the executives did not earn these bonuses and don’t deserve the millions in parting payments that they received. But if parting payments were specified in the executives’ contracts they must be paid. A binding contract is binding."
Contact Tamar Frankel, 617-353-3773, tfrankel@bu.edu
February 27, 2009 at 11:05 am
School of Management finance professor Mark Williams writes in Forbes about potential negligence by Bank of America during its Merrill Lynch acquisition.
"Regardless of the outcome of investigations into breaches of fiduciary duty, the real loss is that BoA only six months ago was a strong and valuable banking franchise. If it had not quickly jumped into the ML deal, they would have been well positioned to be a dominant player in today's banking sector.
"Instead, Bank of American continues to fight for its survival and there is a real chance that it may even need to be nationalized. That would be a dire day for banking, for America and, unfortunately, for BoA shareholders."
Contact Mark T. Williams, 617-358-2789, williams@bu.edu
February 26, 2009 at 10:04 am
According to a study released this week by the Harvard University School of Public Health, weight loss among long term dieters is determined mostly by calorie intake, versus menu-type. Registered Dietitican Joan Salge Blake is available to comment on this and other timely topics. She can be reached at salgeblake@comcast.net or (617) 353-7470.
February 24, 2009 at 10:45 am
Waistlines are expanding as worries about the economy worsen, according to doctors, dietians and trainers in a Forbes.com story last week. Caroline Apovian, M.D., director of the Center for Nutrition and Weight Management and director of clinical research for the Obesity Center, both at Boston Medical Center, has seen the eating habits of her patients worsen.
"My patients used to be able to keep their weight under control by eating lots of fresh produce and lean protein," said Dr. Apovian. "Now they can't afford these things. As a result, they're seeing the numbers on the scale creep up, along with their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol."
December 9, 2008 at 8:00 am
The Boston University Art Gallery (BUAG) is hosting a gallery discussion featuring curators Cynthia Becker and Christraud Geary who will explore the conception of the exhibit. The event is taking place in conjunction with the gallery’s latest exhibition which features postcards produced from Africa between 1870 and the 1930s. The symposium will be held at the Boston University Stone Gallery today, Tuesday, December 9, at 4:00 PM. The event is free and open to the public. Exposures
December 3, 2008 at 6:53 pm
There have been many efforts to integrate various social-networking platforms into a seamless community. Some were introduced by the sites themselves, such as Facebook Connect. Others are third-party middleware like Power.com, launching this week in the U.S.
College of Communication Professor Hyun-Yeul Lee, a technology expert in the Department of Mass Communication, says the advantage in the effort to align the social-network stars likely will go to the platforms.
"When instant messaging became a big hit through AOL, Yahoo, and MSN, users flocked to specific applications based on their daily use, while others used clients that were already available associated with their e-mail accounts. Because of a wider distribution use between the different client applications, there was a need for middleware applications or middleware features in existintg clients to log onto other IM spaces.
"It is natural to see such a parallel now with social-networking sites, but different in the manner that these sites are social repositories. I predict sites like Power.com will not be as successful because of two factors: Communities have flocked together and grown within a popular network, such as Facebook and Myspace; and popular network sites such as Facebook allow developers to build an application which can include integrating other social-network sites.
"Unless there are convenience features compelling enough in sites such as Power.com, middleware ideas will most likely be developed and adopted within existing social-networking sites."
November 30, 2008 at 3:58 pm
School of Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial law and a former counsel to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, says the government's bailout of Citigroup needs more oversight than initially planned.
"Once again, the Treasury has opened its coffers to bail out a private institution without requiring any accountability or oversight.
"If we have learned anything from the current financial crisis it is that the 'originate to sell' business model was flawed as it was irresponsible. Citigroup has been a key player in implementing this model and leadership at the ighest board and executive level should be held to account for grossly inadequate risk controls and the firm's overreaching for yields and fees.
"The U.S. should demand, as part of its investment in Citigroup, that one or more directors be appointed to the Citigroup board to ensure that the shareholders' and the taxpayers' interests are properly represented."
